Sign-holder for telephone-dials.



R. H. GERARD.

SIG-N HOLDER FOR TELEPHONE DIALS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 23, 1910.

1,000,794. Patented Aug. 15,1911.

a 4 ua-1.12

Wmm ms INVENTOB 771 w. an H W BY W2C ATTORNEY ,S

ROY HANMORE GERARD, 0F BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

SIGN-HOLDER FOR TELEPHONE-DIALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1911.

Application filed November 23, 1910. Serial No. 593,944.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Roy HANMORE Gn- RARD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SignHolders for Telephone-Dials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists of a novel attachment particularly designed foruse in connection with automatic telephones of the type wherein arevolving dial is employed upon the subscribers instrument, for makingcalls, and a finger stop associated with the dial for limiting themovement of the latter in the customary manner.

At the present time the dial of the subscribers telephone is providedwith indicia, including directions for operating the instrument, andsince the dial rotates and is brought to rest in any one of about elevendifierent positions, the above indicia is frequently up-side-down, andtherefore inconvenient for reading by an operator unfamiliar with theuse of the apparatus.

The present invention provides a holder for a sign, or the like andwhich is mounted upon the axis of the rotatable dial, but is heldstationary by the finger stop so that the directions upon the holder arealways readable, and, furthermore, by reason of the location of theholder at the central portion of the dial, said directions areprominently placed, resulting in obvious advantages.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to thefollowing detail description and the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a View showing an ordinary automatic telephone andsubscriberls set, of the desk type, and showing the invention inoperative position with respect to the dial thereof; Fig. 2 is atransverse sectional view of the invention alone and operativelyarranged with respect to the screw axis of the dial; Fig. 3 is acombined plan and edge View of the sign holder; and Fig. 4 is a planview of the sign which is preferably removably applied to the holder.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the standard of an ordinarysubscribers desk set telephone and the numeral 2 the receiver supportedthereon in the common manner. As in the ordinary apparatus, the fingerdial 3 is mounted rotatably upon the base ofthe standard 1, beingsupported by a screw 4. Near its outer periphery the dial 3 has thefinger openings 5 and the finger stop 6 associated with the dialprojects over, or overlaps, an edge portion of the dial so as to beengaged by the finger of an operator who rotatesthe latter part.

The sign holder comprising the present invention consists preferably ofa circular body or plate 7 of a diameter somewhat less than the diameterof the space surrounded by the finger openings 5 of the dial 3, and saidplate or body 7 is formed at its center with an upwardly flared opening8 adapted to receive the head of the screw A somewhat loosely so thatthe sign holder will not interfere with the free rotation of the dial 3,

the latter being arranged beneath the sign holder when the same isproperly applied to the telephone. At a suitable point in its periphery,the body 7 of the sign holder is provided with a notch 9 receiving theinner extremity of the finger stop 6, the stop thus cooperating with thesign holder to prevent rotation thereof, since the finger stop itself isstationary. A washer 10 may be interposed between the under side of thesign holder and the upper face of the dial 3.

If desired, the directions for using the telephone may be printed,inscribed, pressed or otherwise formed upon the upper surface of thebody 7 of the sign holder and said directions will always be readable byreason of the stationary mounting of this part. As shown in thedrawings, however, the plate from which the sign holder is made has itsperipheral edge formed with an inwardly curved flange 7 adapted tooverlap a detachable disk 11, made of paper or similar material and onwhich the directions for using the telephone are printed. To protect thedisk 11, a cover disk 12 is preferably employed, the latter being madeof any suitable transparent substance. The printed disk 11 may be formedwith a projection 13 on its periphery.

When the sign holder is made in the manner shown in Fig. 3, the diskholding flange 7 is split and the split ends bent outwardly as shown at7 to form grooved projections, and the space between the saidprojections constitutes the notch 9, before referred to. The disk 11will be seated on the sign holding body 7 and positioned properly byinterlocking the projection 13 between the projections 7 The projections7 on the sign holder snugly receive the inner extremity of the fingerstop therebetween and thereby establishing the locking connectionbetween the sign holder and the stop 3.

The sign holder may be made of any suit able material in carrying outthe invention, and it is to be understood that the specific structure ofthe various parts as hereinbefore described may be modified, having inview the specialobjects of the invention, and the scope of the claimshereto appended.

Having thus fully described my invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In combination with a telephone set embodying a rotatable finger dialand a finger stop associated therewith, and a sign holder supported bythe axis of the dial and having interlocking connection with the fingerstop whereby movement of the holder is prevented during rotation of thedial.

2. In combination with a telephone set comprising a rotatable dialprovided with finger openings adjacent to its peripheral portion, anaxis for said dial passing through the same, a sign holder arranged overthe dial and of a diameter less than the space surrounded by theopenings aforesaid, and a stationary finger stop associated with thedial and projecting over the edge portion of the latter and interlockingwith the edge portion of the sign holder.

8. In combination with a telephone set embodying a finger dial, a'headed screw passing through said dial and constituting the axisthereof, a finger stop associated with the dial and extending over theedge portion of the latter toward its center, and a sign holder throughwhich the screw aforesaid passes, said sign holder being arranged abovethe dial and having a peripheral notch receiving the inner extremity ofthe finger stop, whereby the sign holder is prevented groin rotationduring the movement of the 4. As a new articleof manufacture, a'signholder for automatic telephone sets comprising' a centrally aperturedplate ofsubstantially circular form, the edge portion of the plate beingformed with a sign holding flange, said flange being split at a suitablepoint and the split ends being bent outwardly so as to provide spacedprojections, and a sign comprising a disk held in place on the holder bythe edge flange aforesaid, said sign having a peripheral projectionextending into the space between the spaced projections of the holder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two wltnesses.

ROY HANMORE GERARD.

Witnesses: I

MARY H. GERARD, C. H. G. RUNDE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0.

